A magazine for all Laidlaw employees

News

Spring 2010 Inside... Welcome // Ask A Question // Lightbulb //

Laidlaw Quiz // Whiston Hospital // The Big 5 // Our People // Focus On Kinmel Bay//

Reaching for the Sky

Laidlaw smash their own record by installing a staggering 4500 doorsets for

St Helens and Whiston Hospitals.

[Turn to page 4 to see the results at Whiston Hospital]

Where in the world?

[To find out, turn to Page 5]

Dear Colleagues,

Welcome to our Spring edition of Laidlaw News in which we feature our largest major project success to date, St Helens and Whiston Hospitals for Vinci Taylor Woodrow. We also look at some of our marketing initiatives and as always, we share some of our people stories – these include more Laidlaw babies, a fond farewell to Ian Mellish from our Sheffield Branch and congratulations to Nick Bradley on 30 years (albeit with a little break elsewhere!) spent at Kinmel Bay. Nick and his team also feature as do some of our Gateshead Team who demonstrate true teamwork in sharing their OSMI bonus with customers! Whilst we undoubtedly face challenging trading conditions as a result of the decline in construction activity due to the economic downturn, our business nonetheless remains resilient. We now have a good balance of UK and overseas businesses as well as a wide product portfolio and we continue to develop our product offering in doorsets, handrail & balustrade and ironmongery/access control. We cannot be complacent however and as such we will need to continue to review our productivity in order to ensure we remain competitive. Our challenge is to maintain and indeed grow our market share during these times, whilst we strive to deliver excellent service to our customers. Every member of the Laidlaw team can make a difference here by responding to our customer needs in these dynamic market conditions. Get this right and we will be in a strong position to take advantage of the market upturn when it arrives. In the meantime I thank you all for your continued commitment and support to our company.

John Jefferies Managing Director

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Ask A Question

Describe yourself in three words. Tall, Trustworthy, Fun loving. Do you have a secret talent? Yes, but it wouldn‟t be a secret if I told you. Ok then, it is sailing. What does all your money go on? My 6 month old and 3 year old daughters, and boating stuff (whenever I get the chance). Who would you invite to your dream dinner party? Cameron Diaz, Jennifer Aniston, Ranulph Fiennes and James Cracknell. What did you want to be when you were growing up? An explorer. What is the phrase or word you use most often? I can‟t say as it is before the 9 o‟clock watershed. What is the most important lesson life has taught you? No matter what hurdles are put in your way they can always be overcome. If you were stranded on a desert island and could only manage to take three things with you, what would they be? My wife, my 2 daughters, a boat. Your favourite meal? Fish, wrapped in Parma ham with a warm Chorizo and flageolet bean salad.

What annoys you the most? Ignorance and arrogance, Oh, and middle lane drivers doing 60mph, oblivious as to what is going on around them... Your favourite drink? Good real ale or a bottle of red. Where would your dream holiday be? Sailing to New Zealand to climb the Fox Glacier. Who is your greatest inspiration? Ranulph Fiennes. What is your guilty pleasure? Kebab, only after some beers though. What was the last book you read? Race to the Pole by James Cracknell and Ben Fogle.

With Gareth Evans Warehouse & Distribution Manager (Willenhall)

“I can’t say as it is

before the 9 o’clock

watershed.”

January Winner Gary Charlton (Trade Counter- Gateshead)

Gary pointed out that in our surplus stock there is a mixture of Normbau standard fittings with cover caps. His idea was to throw away the coloured caps so then these can be sold as a standard bolt through fitting set, which are stocked at Willenhall.

The winners this quarter each win a £50 gift voucher! If you have an idea that could make our business more cost effective, then please send it to lightbulb@laidlaw.net.

November Winner Simon Martin (Warehouse Operative - Kinmel Bay)

Simon recommended setting up Laidlawdirect.net as a store on eBay.

Lightbulb Scheme

GAI Awards Congratulations to Ellie Martin and Nick Peacock (Saturn Solutions Limited) on passing their third year of the GAI!

Starters

Darren Williams Regional Sales Director London & SE Kevin Cox Business Development Manager Access Control Lucy Yates Key Account Manager Scotland

Leavers

Andrew Dickinson Central Sales Coordinator Salford Dave Shields Major Projects Manager Doorsets Dave Antonio Key Account Manager Northwest Paul Jones Draughtsman Handrails

Retired

Ian Mellish Estimator Sheffield

HR Update

GEOGRAPHY 1) Where would you find the SS Great Britain?

LAIDLAW NEWS 2) How many references to previous covers of the Laidlaw News are there in this issue?

ASK A QUESTION 3) What can Vicki Chilton not function without?

COMPANY KNOWLEDGE 4) How much would you have to spend to qualify for free delivery on Laidlaw Direct?

LANGUAGE 5) Whose name is this an anagram of? A Real Wink

PICTURE ROUND 6) Can you name these two members of staff?

CASE STUDIES 7) Which retail outlets did we provide ironmongery for at the White City Shopping Centre? 8) How many Orbis timber doorsets were installed at Buile Hill High School, Salford?

Laidlaw Quiz Want to win £25 in vouchers? Play the quiz and you could be in with a chance!

When you have the answers, e-mail sian.mills@laidlaw.net, titling the e-mail „Laidlaw Quiz‟. All the correct answers will be put into a hat and a winner will be drawn. Please get your answers in before April 23rd 2010! Last issue‟s winner was Mandy Fox in Willenhall. Well done!

Laidlaw Quiz (Autumn 2009 Answers)

1) Perth 2) Claire Horney 3) Celtic fans 4) Glasgow 5) Steve McAslin 6) Chris Pringle 7) Sean Carrington 8) Glynn Johnson 9) Nick Bradley

Supply Chain Innovation Day

As part of the ongoing negotiations with Balfour Beatty in the North,

Laidlaw were invited to attend their recent Northern Supply Chain

Innovation day held at the Reebok Stadium, Bolton. This was the first of

this type of event Balfour Beatty have arranged and going on the reception

it got, it will now be an annual event in their supply chain calendar.

Balfour Beatty Supply Chain Partners were asked to display their products

and services at this free event. The event was extremely well attended by

key Balfour Beatty individuals. Balfour Beatty‟s external architects and

designers were in attendance and it proved to be a worthwhile networking

event with live leads which should result in decent Timber Door orders in

the future. The event gave Balfour Beatty and their design teams the

opportunity to get all their supply chain partners under one roof.

In attendance were Clint Robertson, who is leading the trading agreement

negotiations with Balfour Beatty, Martin Anderson, who has been heavily

influential in securing some big timber door orders and Michael Spoors

who was on hand to demonstrate Laidlaw‟s Access Control capabilities.

Pictured to the left are Clint Robertson and Martin Anderson.

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Laidlaw Gulf has secured ironmongery orders for one of the most prestigious projects in the Middle East - the Meydan Grandstand and Racecourse in Dubai, the largest complex of its kind in the world. Laidlaw's supply to the project includes the Orbis Classic range, with a t o t a l o r d e r v a l u e o f o v e r £ 8 0 0 , 0 0 0 . The opening of the Meydan Racecourse on January 28th 2010 was a defining moment in horseracing's global history. Unparalleled levels of luxury, customer comfort and racing technology combine to create the ultimate racing experience. And when the 60,000 capacity crowd have finished cheering on the world‟s finest thoroughbreds there‟s a 5 star hotel, international restaurants and an IMAX cinema to capture the imagination. On March 27th 2010, it will become the new home of the Dubai World Cup, and as such, the new global home for elite horseracing. It will attract the best thoroughbreds, owners and racing nobility from around the world.

A Dubai Triumph

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Laidlaw Solutions‟ position as the UK‟s leading supplier of doorsets to the healthcare sector has been emphasised by the spec ification of 4500 Orbis Timber Doorsets to two new PFI hospitals at St Helens and Whiston. In addition to a 30-year maintenance and replacement contract, specialist requirements included 50 postformed 'Acroyn' PVC-faced sterile doorsets for level 1 theatres, 80 Radiological performance doorsets for X-Ray departments and 180 Easi-fold doorsets for disabled POD bathrooms. Orbis Commercial ironmongery in Silk Anodised Aluminium was supplied for the ‟Bio Oak‟ laminated doorsets, with solid nylon Normbau levers and pull handles used for the ‟Corfu‟ Formica® psm laminate doors. Laidlaw Managing Director John Jefferies commented, “This is a huge project that Laidlaw has been proud to support. We have worked in partnership with the Taylor Woodrow teams, at both St Helens and Whiston, to deliver a world class hospital for the client and local community. There could be no better illustration of Laidlaw‟s ability to meet the specialised needs of healthcare projects in the UK."

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Dubai World Trade Centre in the UAE was the venue once again for the Big 5 Exhibition traditionally held in November each year. This time however, Laidlaw Gulf LLC were proud to be present in an inaugural solus attempt to launch product ranges for the local market and of course to fly the corporate flag within the UAE. Big 5 is an international exhibition comprising 5 main construction fields – Building & Construction, Water Technology & Environment, Air Conditioning & Refrigeration, Bathrooms & Ceramics and Marble & Stone. Laidlaw Gulf were proud to be within the Building & Construction segment and part of the British Pavilion. The exhibition was officially opened by HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai and Minister of Finance.

Although the key focus was the launch of our Pureline Doorsets Range, we certainly took the opportunity to exhibit all our wares from within our wide portfolio. We even took the opportunity to highlight some of the key Gulf projects we have secured to date by way of creating case studies via colourful graphics. The 4 day event proved to be a great showcase for showing our wares and flying the corporate flag and although the 87 leads are still being followed up upon – the team felt it was well worth being present. The Pureline Doorsets Range consists of a wide range of door designs complete with a wrap around frame which has some unique fixing features and is aimed at the Commercial and top end Domestic markets. This is very much in keeping with the UAE market and therefore this range will only be sold within the UAE and Middle East. It is not a range for the UK.

One of the key surprises throughout the exhibition was the number of visitors who affectionately remembered the Laidlaw name particularly as NT Laidlaw and IR Laidlaw. Some even remembered the Orbis brand name. They were delighted to see the name again and complimented us on having a great stand and local presence now.

Having got the taste for these types of exhibitions due to their lucrative nature, there are plans to continue to feature at other relevant exhibitions both at home in the UK and internationally – particularly if partial funding is available via Chambers of Commerce, as in this case.

Despite the long stand duty hours of 10am to 8pm each day my thanks go out to Clive Edgley, Chris Welford, Ashraf Salah, Prasad Nair, Andrew Cooke and John Jefferies for supporting me on the stand.

1) Our contingent at The Big 5: Ashraf Salah (Laidlaw Gulf Sales Manager),

Clive Edgley, John Jefferies, Shafiq Sharif and Chris Welford (Laidlaw Gulf General Manager).

2) A view of the Dubai strip from the convention centre.

3) Our stand at The Big 5.

4) Chris, Ashraf and John make sure our samples are working correctly. Eagle

eyed readers will notice copies of the Laidlaw News on the table!

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Ou

r Peo

ple

If you have any stories to share,

please send them to sian.mills@laidlaw.net

Laidlaw Goes To Amsterdam Steve Griffiths (Branch Manager - Gateshead and Regional Director - North & East)

Following the receipt of the OSMI bonus at the Gateshead branch it was decided that they would like to invest their hard earned reward wisely – in a team bonding trip to Amsterdam. They even managed to squeeze one of their top customers (Gateshead Council) on to the trip, and Flexy‟s (Garry Charlton) son Cameron. As you can see from the photos a good time was had by all. Needless to say the trip has really fired the team up to build a bigger OSMI bonus pot for a better trip next year.

1) Visiting the canals of Amsterdam. 2) Tony Kears & Steve G enjoying the high life and £8.50 cocktails. 3) Old fellas from Gateshead Council. 4) Dan Coyles and Steve Smith wearing the necessary headgear when on the high seas. 5) Dan Kane looking merry. 6) Flexy and Cameron (father & son) bonding.

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Nick Bradley recently celebrated 30 years with Laidlaw. Below are a few words we received from his former boss at Kinmel Bay, Tecwyn Thomas (pictured left with Nick and John).

“I went shopping recently and called at Laidlaw Solutions in Kinmel Bay to collect a set of sliding door gear. I was in the middle of doing some DIY work at home and therefore I was dressed accordingly in a shabby old anorak and, I have to admit, unshaven. Nick Bradley and John Emrys were behind the counter with someone I had not met and it was a delight to be introduced to your MD, John Jefferies.

It was a further surprise to discover that the reason for his visit was to present Nick with a 30 years service gift and I even had, in my scruffy state, my photograph taken and was given a copy of Laidlaw News to browse through.

I remember quite clearly taking Nick and John Emrys on the staff and as I have now been retired for 18 years you can imagine that I felt the years pressing on me, but it was a delightful and unexpected bonus to the day. As I am now 78 I feel perhaps that I have the right to address your MD as John and we spent a very pleasant few minutes remembering friends in the trade and it it was good to hear of Laidlaw's continued interest in the GAI and to read of the successes of the staff and particularly to learn that, as a company, you are amongst the market leaders.”

Congratulations to Keith Evans and his wife, who gave birth to baby boy Thomas Evans on 30th January 2010 at 14:05. He weighed in at 9lb. Mother and baby are doing well.

Laidlaw Kids

Keith Evans (Key Account Manager- Willenhall)

Ken Ranford (Estimator - Willenhall)

Ken Ranford became a grandad for the first time on 9th December 2009. Mya Goulding was born 5 weeks early and weighed in at 5lb 2oz. As you can see, Ken is a very proud grand parent!

Robert Fenn‟s new grandaughter, Alyssa Mia, was born at 22:15 on 12th December 2009. She weighed in at 8lb 9oz. This is his fifth grandchild, which means that Christmas is going to start getting expensive!

Robert Fenn (Scheduler - Barnstaple)

John Cairns (Scheduler - Willenhall)

Here are John Cairn‟s little men. On the left is his new-born grandson Joseph, born on 15th December 2009. He weighed around 9lb. Next to Joe is John‟s first grandson, Sam, who turned two years old on 21st December 2009. As you can see, Sam is doing very well!

More new additions to the lives of our colleagues this quarter.

We asked for your photos last issue, and you delivered!!! It seems we are experiencing a bit of a baby boom, and so here are the proud parents and grandparents of a new set of Laidlaw kids!

The Big 60 Clive Edgley (International Sales and Operations Director)

Many happy returns to Clive who celebrated his 60th birthday on the 22nd January. He had thought his collegues in Salford didn‟t know, but they suprised him on the day with a very expensive bottle of cognac. I‟m sure he‟s glad that everyone knew it was his birthday now! Don‟t drink it all at once Clive!

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Ian retired on December 10th after 29 years service with Laidlaw. Ian will be greatly missed by all at Sheffield and on behalf of myself and all his colleagues I would like to wish him a long and happy retirement.

Thank you to Simon Marr for the article and picture.

Ian’s Retirement Ian Mellish (Estimator - Sheffield)

30 Years Of Service Nick Bradley (Branch Manager - Kinmel Bay)

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EMS 531228 RS 10508

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Notice Lorraine’s Welsh flag mug! Surely she’s Welsh t h r o u g h a n d through?

Some Things You Might Not Know About The Kinmel Bay Staff

Lorraine Daly - Born in Cork, Ireland in 1971. She went to University in Aberystwyth from 1994 to 1997. She moved to Old Colwyn with her partner and son in 2007 and started work with Laidlaw in March 2008. Phil reckons she is now Welsh (see the mug in her photo), but Lorraine is very proud of her roots and has to keep reminding him that North Wales is now her home but not where she is from.

Phil Bennett - Welsh rugby international fly half from the 70‟s. Sorry, wrong one, but claims to be related. Born in Newport, South Wales, and now lives in Connah‟s Quay. Has been with Laidlaw since October 2005. He is obsessed with Wrexham Football Club. Married for 38 years with 2 children and 3 grandchildren.

Simon Martin - Born in St. Asaph in 1982 and now lives in Abergele with his partner and their two children, Caitlin aged 4 and Kayla aged 2. He joined us in our KCC days in September 2002. Liked going to the gym and is currently trying to stop smoking for the 100th time. Enjoys winding Phil up.

Nick Bradley - Started with W Tecwyn Thomas (Laidlaw & Thompson Cymru Ltd) at the age of 18 and other than 4 years at KCC Ltd has worked for the company ever since. Currently lives half a mile from the office, but still uses his car to get to work “in case we need it for a delivery”. Born in 1961 in Prestatyn and has lived in the area all his life.

John Jones - Started working for W Tecwyn Thomas (Laidlaw & Thompson Cymru Ltd) 28 years ago (2 years after Nick) and also had the 4 years away at KCC Ltd. He is fully bi-lingual, being born in St Asaph in 1963 in to a fully Welsh speaking family. He has 3 children and his eldest daughter, Sara, is currently going out with Mark Webster, who recently finished third in the PDC World Darts championship having lost to Phil Taylor in the semi final.

F cus On Kinmel Bay Things to know about Kinmel Bay and the surrounding area

Kinmel Bay‟s nearest football team is Rhyl FC, current Welsh Premiership league title holders. Reported to be Adam Doorman‟s second favourite team.

Famous people from the area include...

Carol Vorderman, born in Rhyl.

Lisa Scott-Lee, a former member of Steps, is from St Asaph.

Former Visage singer, Steve Strange (real name Steve Harrington) went to

junior school in Kinmel Bay.

Ruth Ellis, the last woman to be hanged in Britain (1955) was born in Rhyl

in 1927.

Peter Moore, Wales‟ only serial killer, who killed 4 men in 1995, was

running a small cinema in Kinmel Bay at the time of the murders.

1) The Kinmel Bay team from left to right - Lorraine Daly, Simon Martin, Phil Bennett, John Jones and Nick Bradley.

2) Phil and John looking over site plans.

3) Simon winding up Phil, as usual!

4) & 5) Lorraine and Simon hard at work.

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